A Very Shenny Halloween (part 2)
by Risknight
Summary: Sheldon's new office is almost perfect. There's the little matter of the ghost who wants him out, but other than that, it's great.


**Another week, another Halloween story. :)  
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**Just to clarify, this is not a continuation of the previous story. This is a completely separate story under the same title. Four individual stories in all, to celebrate my favorite holiday.**

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><p>Sheldon Cooper looked around the spacious office with suppressed glee. It was huge! Surely it was the largest office at Cal-Tech! Even President Seibert's office was only half this room's size! Of course, as a certified genius and the university's best chance at a Nobel Laureate, it was fitting that he have such a prestigious space. He walked around the room, noting it had it's own private bathroom, and mentally planned where his shelves, desk and cabinets would go.<p>

Suddenly a burst of icy air sliced through the space. Sheldon looked around for an open window or air vent. President Seibert cleared his throat loudly, looking around the office warily. "So, Dr. Cooper? What do you think?"

Sheldon gave his new boss his full attention. "I am satisfied. I will begin moving my equipment in this weekend."

Immediately the windows banged open and the overhead light exploded in a shower of sparks and glass slivers. **"GET OUT!"**

Seibert squeaked and ran down the hallway as fast as he could. Sheldon watched him go before turning and looking around the room. Shadowy claws crawled up the wall menacingly and he could see his breath in the air. He narrowed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips.

"I do not believe in ghosts," he declared loudly. "Nor do I believe in poltergeists, spooks, hauntings or possessions. Stop this immediately."

A dark shape came into view right in front of him. Tendrils of the shadow floated around the head like snakes. **"LEAVE NOW!"**

Sheldon drew himself up to his full height. "This is my office," he said firmly. "I am not going anywhere. I have universal mysteries to solve, and no shadowy specter is going to stop me!"

Sheldon didn't wait for an answer. He simply turned and walked away. The door slammed shut behind him and he shivered. Sheldon pulled back his shoulders and straightened his spine. He wasn't going to let anything detract from his work. Not even a ghost. Which he didn't even believe in anyway!

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><p>Sheldon picked up several of his physics books and placed them on the top bookshelf. He turned and grabbed another stack, but when he turned back to the shelf the first stack was upside down. With gritted teeth he righted the books and added the others to the shelf. He turned to grab some more, only to find the books in the box were now out of order.<p>

He grumbled under his breath and grabbed a couple in each hand. He sorted them and added them to the shelf. When he reached for the last few, the box was now across the room, under the window.

"Stop being childish!" he growled, stomping over to the box. "This is my office now, and I refuse to be run off by a figment of my imagination!"

"**LEAVE NOW OR FEEL MY WRATH!"**

Sheldon closed his eyes as a gust of wind hit him hard. When he opened them again he was stunned to find himself standing in the middle of the school's archery field. An arrow whizzed by his shoulder and he yelped before dropping to the ground. Sounds of alarm rose up nearby. When he finally looked up, he saw the physics building in the distance. She had teleported him! He hadn't even known that was possible!

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><p>She sat on top of the bookshelf and watched him inch his desk closer to the window. He stopped and walked around it before inching it back again. This man was impossible! So far she had sent him to the field twice, only to have him come back more determined than ever. She locked him out, so he called in a locksmith. She shattered every light bulb, so he started carrying a flashlight. She stopped up his toilet, so he called a plumber and then he played his Theremin for two hours!<p>

He had only been here four days and already she was growing weary of their fight. If she was honest, she kind of respected the guy. He had no give up in him. Besides, she liked that thick twang he got in his voice when he was angry. Mischief rose up inside her and she blew a gust of wind across his desk, scattering his papers.

Sheldon huffed and turned around, looking for his spook. When he started to think of he as _his_ spook, he wasn't sure. Somewhere between teleporting him and making it snow on him while he was polishing his new desk he had developed a faint fondness for her. She was stubborn and imaginative, and she kept things interesting.

The shape formed near his desk and he looked over. He slapped a hand over his eyes and blushed. "Nudity will not work make me abandon my office either!"

"**Oops. Sorry. Okay, you can look now."**

Sheldon peeked through his fingers before lowering his hand. She was pretty. She was kind of muted, like a washed out comic book page. Her coloring was softer than pastels. He assumed her hair was blonde in life, because it was a white-blonde now. She was wearing shorts and a camisole top, her feet bare. "As I've said before, I do not believe in ghosts."

She rolled her eyes and cocked one hip out, her arms crossed under her breasts. She looked at the papers he was carefully stacking back up. Her eyes widened and she moved closer. Her voice dropped the booming tone and because pleasantly feminine. "Wow. What is that stuff?"

Sheldon looked at her with pride. "I am a theoretical physicist. This is my work on monopoles and multiple universes."

She looked up at him with amazement. "Are you one of those beautiful minds?"

He blushed and nodded. "Yeah."

Slowly she moved around in front of him, her eyes searching his face. After a couple of seconds she seemed to make a decision. "I'm Penny. I guess it wouldn't be so bad sharing a space."

Sheldon studied her carefully. "No more blown bulbs?"

She laughed softly. "Or locked doors or teleporting."

Sheldon smiled slightly, unaware of how it made him seem charming. "Actually I do not mind the teleporting, as long as you send me to the cafeteria. Then I wouldn't have to walk past the laser labs and be accosted by Dr. Hofstadter. He seems to want to be friends." He froze as Penny suddenly turned black like a thunder cloud. Her hair flew out in all directions and her eyes were like burning rubies.

"Hofstadter?!" she shrieked. A stiff wind blew around the room, and Sheldon had to squint to keep seeing her.

Slowly he stepped closer. "Penny?" He licked his lips nervously as she seemed to pulse with rage. "Penny, what is wrong? Do you know Dr. Hofstadter?"

"That moron is why I'm dead!" she screeched. "I was here to meet a blind date named Barry Kripke and Hofstadter was goofing off with some stupid laser. He burned a hole through a wall, destroying the brace on a shelf. The shelf fell, dropping a bunch of chemicals on the floor. They mixed together, blew up and here I am!"

Sheldon didn't have a lot of experience offering comfort or sympathy. He tried to pat her on the shoulder, but his hand fell through her. "Ummm, if it's any consolation, Barry Kripke is short, lisps and has been reprimanded seven times for sexual harassment."

Slowly Penny's color faded back into pale pastels. She puffed out her cheeks for a second before relaxing. She crossed her legs under her, floating two feet above the carpeting. "Hofstadter is still an idiot," she groused.

Sheldon nodded and leaned his hips against the desk. "I agree. How will this truce between us work?" He swallowed nervously. "Will you leave?"

Penny shrugged her shoulders. "Nope. Can't do it, sweetie. I'm here for good. I've been here since I died. Two years ago they tore down the labs that stood here and built this office hoping I would go away. No such luck. My blood is bonded to the floor. Besides, I don't want to leave."

"Why not?" he asked curiously.

She nibbled on her bottom lip. "I'm not lonely anymore," she admitted. "There's always people around, things to see, stuff to learn. Before I died the only things I knew about were sex, partying, or drinking. After I died I was pretty mad, especially when I realized I would never taste or smell good coffee again. All I smell now is that crap in the cafeteria. But eventually I started to learn things. Math, biology, astronomy, even a bit of geology. I don't like visiting the geology department much, though. Those guys are really weird." She drifted sideways and looked at his papers again. "And now, I get to learn about physics. Cool, huh?"

Sheldon grinned at her with growing happiness. "Very cool, indeed."

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><p>For three years a ghost had made life miserable for anyone who attempted to use Lab 14, or the office that replaced it. To be honest, Seibert only gave Cooper the office to humble him. He knew the man's reputation for arrogance and ego. He had thought that Dr. Cooper would be spooked fairly quickly and that would set the tone of their future interactions. When, after a week, Cooper showed no signs of being alarmed or angry, he couldn't help wondering it the ghost was gone.<p>

Had Dr. Cooper exorcized it? Had it given up in the face of his arrogance? The first time Seibert dropped by to see how Sheldon was settling in, he found himself in the middle of the archery field. A wayward arrow grazed his left hand, leaving him with a tiny scar.

Every weekday Sheldon would arrive at the university with a cup of tea and a cup of coffee. The coffee would sit on his desk until it grew cold and then he would throw it away. When he was working on his theories no one could get into the office, for any reason. Even if the door was open, it was impossible to enter.

Whenever someone upset Sheldon, be it a student or a co-worker, they would suddenly find themselves in the archery field. Seibert often heard people say that whenever they walked by the office they could hear two voices inside. One was Sheldon's and the other was a soft feminine voice. Seibert, himself, once heard the physicist laughing heartily as a female giggled. He had knocked on the door out of curiosity. When the door opened, Cooper was the only occupant.

As time went on, people became inured to the situation. Sheldon was a loner for the most part, but it served him well. Thirteen years after joining Cal-Tech, he became their resident Nobel Laureate for his work proving M theory.

His twelve month lecture tour was cut short after only five months. He insisted on returning to work, saying he disliked being away from home. Seibert was more than happy to have him back. During his absence the entire wing that housed his office remained eerily dark and cold. No amount of heating or light bulbs could change that. Unsurprisingly, the moment he set foot back in his office, the lights brightened and the hallway warmed up. Two days later Sheldon called in the janitor to clean up a blood stain. He claimed he had cut himself on a broken teacup even though there was no shattered china.

Then came the Monday Sheldon didn't show up for work. After 46 years of an almost perfect attendance record, it was alarming enough that the current President of Cal-Tech, Gabelhauser, went to check on Sheldon in person. The coroner said it was a massive heart attack.

When Sheldon's next of kin tried to clean out the office, they found it impossible to enter. The door could not be unlocked. They even tried to take it off the hinges, but it remained sealed up. The window was impenetrable as well. It refused to open or shatter. The nephew even brought in a priest, but nothing worked. They gave up when they started to get stung by bees.

Two weeks later the cleaning crew came to Gabelhauser with a strange story. They claimed that they could hear voices inside the office. One was male and held a deep twang. The other was female, soft and joyous. Before long he began to hear similar stories from students and faculty. With resignation Gabelhauser sealed up the door with plaster and paint. He left the window uncovered to let in light. After all, ghosts wouldn't want to live in the dark.


End file.
